Pokemon High: Never give up
by queen-random1
Summary: This school was no ordinary school; it was full of the jocks, athletics, nerds, losers, populars, loners, and so many more groups that everyone was classified in. It was just how social life was like, and the populars aren't anyone to mess around with, mainly the stuck up fab five group with Brianna, Melody, Miette, Ursula, and Hilda,making Dawn goes through hell and back. (Ikari)
1. plotline

This school was no ordinary school; it was full of the jocks, athletics, nerds, losers, populars, loners, and so many more groups that everyone was classified in. It was just how social life was like, and the populars aren't anyone to mess around with, mainly the stuck up fab five group with Brianna, Melody, Miette, Ursula, and of course Hilda, who has messed around with Dawns life ever since kindergarten, but Dawn isn't putting up with it anymore. Dawn comes into Junior year like a completely new person after leaving sophomore year halfway through to another academy that left Dawn leaving confident and prepared for another year at Western Sinnoh high school once again.

It's not all about school, her life literally is turned around upside down, completely opposite of what she was expecting, and a huge part of that involves the fab five and her friends May, Serena, Leaf, Misty,Drew, Ash, Gary, and most of all, Paul, in the drama. Dawn realizes to never give up for anything, whether it's only fighting for the last cookie with May, or it could go all the way to her feelings for someone.


	2. Freshman year (part 1)

*Almost two years ago*

Dawn quickly shuffled her aching legs to make it to her locker in the early morning, once again extremely sore from her father, trying to forget the commotion and memories of last night. it was almost like every other night, after school she went to her sports, then either took the bus home, walked, or finally gave in to letting herself be driven home by any one of her close friends. She'd get home and start on her homework until her father would burst through the door, raging about everything and blaming it on her and her mother for being useless, worthless, etc. Sometimes Dawn would be lucky to have dinner, and tears were shed every night from her loving mother. Her mother was the most important person in her life, always being at Dawns activities and videos for memories, cares, and loves Dawn, and it hurt herself to see her own beautiful mother cry. Life was definitely hard at home, ever since her younger brother Dusk died right in front of Dawn when she was 7 and he was 5.

Dawn pulled up her black hoodie and stared at the ground as she walked, looking at her too worn out Adidas shoes, practically her only shoes she even owned. She didn't even bother looking at her black jeans that hung loosely against her.

Dawn heard footsteps, so she started walking faster until she heard that voice again.

"Dawn, please take off your hood. You know the rules about hoods in school." Principal Cynthia said again, making Dawn sigh. This happened almost everyday, so Dawn whipped her hood off and took out her black beanie and put it on her head, shoving her midnight blue locks into it.

Cynthia slightly smiled at Dawn, who had a straight face. "Thank you Dawn."

Dawn didn't even reply, she just took off to her locker, since her stomach was craving anything edible by now. Last night she tried sneaking out, but her father caught her and... so basically she didn't have a meal last night or this morning.

Dawn finally reached her locker, and wasn't surprised by the words written on it with lipstick. She already knew that Hilda and her group did it, so she ignored it and popped open her locker.

Her locker looked almost like a mini closet. A couple black coats and sweats just in case someone egged her again, old school textbooks, some granola bars and cup noodles to eat, a few bucks left, a basketball, skateboard, a pencil, a few sheets of paper, a mirror, and two huge notebooks for writing and drawing in.

Dawn checked herself in the mirror and wasn't surprised by the few bruises on her face. She sighed, then grabbed one of her notebooks to draw in during class. While stuffing another few granola bars into her bag, someone slammed her locker shut, the noise echoing through the empty hallway since it was too early in the morning.

'Not again...' Dawn thought to herself as she managed to glance at the person who had violently slammed her locker in her face.

"I'm not surprised this scumbag tried to get away from us again. Wow, your face looks so ugly- scratch that, you are ugly. Too bad nobody's asking you to homecoming!" Hilda mocked, while her crew laughed. Dawn sighed, obviously they don't have a life.

"Like, totally Hilda! Not even close! What a hag, like, look at those ugly nasty clothes!" Brianna spat, pointing at Dawns black clothes.

The five girls surrounded Dawn, and Ursula slapped Dawn across the face, making Dawn almost loose balance.

"Ew DeeDee, you can at least look like you don't live in a fucking dump. You're an embarrassment to this school, even lower than those loners." Ursula said, making Dawn almost throw up by her Barbie voice.

"At least I don't look like fake plastic Barbies around public." Dawn boringly said, then turned around to her locker again, only to be pulled back and shoved to the ground by the stuck up bitches they were.

"Shut the fuck up you bitch, how dare you even say that!" Miette screeched, then kicking Dawn in the stomach with her ugly ass high heels. They all laughed at the sight, and continued kicking Dawn every time she attempted to move an inch.

Dawn winced from the pain of those damn high heels they all wore, the brutal pain so unbearable from the beating from her father. She closed her eyes and got onto her knees and hands, breathing heavily to catch her breath.

"Who the fuck said you could get up?! You dirtbag!" Melody screamed, swinging her leg back then smashing her heel into Dawns face, making Dawn fall back down. She felt her face throb in udder pain while feeling blood ooze from her nose.

Ursula yanked Dawn by the collar, almost choking her and they shoved her against the lockers. "Wow,you're so pathetic, you don't even try anymore. You should die Dawn Bernadette Berlitz, cause nobody will EVER remember you and you're ugly self." Ursula spat, her voice dripping with venom.

Brianna laughed at Dawn "Oh my gosh, your face looks like its rotting. I'll be damned if you show up to play the c-team basketball game today. The other team would actually be more afraid of your face than losing" the girls howled in laughter and mockery, while Dawn felt like nothing. She didn't belong anywhere.

Hilda slapped Dawn on the face "How does it feel to not have a family that hates you? To have your friends ditch you? And trust me, not even Ash would stay around for a shit like you." Dawn looked up at them since she was still at least four inches shorter than them, and saw the tiniest little gap in the circle. That was the only way to barely escape from their grasps.

As the five Barbies kept punching her, she noticed her locker was unlocked. Dawn slightly smirked, making them stop punching her.

"What're you smirking at shitbag?" Miette spat, glaring down at the blunette that was only 5 foot and 2 inches. Dawn looked up and smirked, even thought her face had tons of bruises, scratches, and a bloody nose.

"Adios bitchachos!" Dawn yelled, then pushed the girls to the side, having them scream and tumble over each other falling to the ground. Dawn hopes that they broke some ankles from those crappy heels they wore.

Dawn whipped open her locker and grabbed her skateboard and basketball and turned around at the sight of five angry bitches scrambling to their feet.

"You're gonna fucking pay you bitch!" Ursula screamed, lunging at Dawn. Dawn smirked as she threw her basketball right into Ursulas Barbie makeup face as hard as she could while hopping onto her skateboard, making Ursula screech in pain. Ursula clutched her face as blood ran down her nose and her foundation and makeup was screwed up.

"Get that BITCH!" Ursula screamed, her voice cracking. Dawn laughed as she skateboarded down the hallway, hearing more screaming and heels clacking against the floor. Dawn turned around and smirked, then gave herself a boost, then hopped off her skateboard, sending it straight to the ankles of Melody, Miette, Brianna and Hilda.

"Watch out!" Brianna squealed and the skateboard made them all trip, slamming onto the ground. Dawn quickly sprinted and jumped over them and shoved her skateboard and basketball back into her locker, slamming it shut, grabbed her black backpack and made a run for it to homeroom, where some of her friends would be.

She heard them trying to attempt to chase her, but from all of their heels, short skirts, and screaming about their messed up hair and makeup, and trying to catch up to the fastest sprinter, they fell behind in seconds. Dawn loved to play with those bitches, that was the best part.

"Fat asses" Dawn mumbled to herself as she arrived to Algebra 1, seeing May, Ash, and Gary along with a couple other students talking. There wasn't many students since it was still 20 minutes from class starting.

As Dawn closed the door, her three friends looked at her and smiled for a second, and then gasped to the sight of Dawns fucked up face.

"Dawn! What happened this time?!" May frantically asked as she hugged her best friend, who returned the hug.

"It wasn't much, just, er, I tripped last night and fell down the stairs and this morning it was just Ursula, Hilda and their followers. No big deal." Dawn said, as she saw Gary shake his head.

"Hell no! This isn't anything Dawn, this keeps happening and it's getting worse. I mean, you're face is... we're all worried for you. You need help." Gary said as Ash and May nodded in agreement.

"We're your friends Dawn. Please let us help you." Ash worriedly said.

Dawn sighed, they wouldn't understand. "I'm fine, really. I don't want you guys to ruin your reputation and place at this school, I'm lower than a sack of shit. I don't want you guys to ever feel the same." Dawn said, then looked at her friends who each had a sympathetic expression on their faces.

Gary shook his head "Friends are before anything. I don't care that I'm popular, there's nothing great about it, besides all those gorgeous girls. I hate it when Melody latches on me, or when Brianna latches onto Drew, or anything about those ugly chicks." Gary said, making Dawn feel guilt rise up in her stomach.

May looked up at the clock "We'll talk during lunch with the others. But we want you to know that we'll always be here for you Dawn." May smiled at Dawn, and they both walked to their seats.

As Dawn sat in her seat in the back corner of the class, she let out a sigh while grabbing her homework and notebook. She turned in her homework along with the other students, and paid no attention as she was lost deeply in her thoughts, drawing. Drawing was one of her ways to express how she felt, the other being singing, but of course she'd never tell.

After a few classes, it was lunch. Dawn gulped, she didn't want her friends to ask her about it, so she ate by herself. As she chomped down the only granola bars she had, she saw Ursula walking in the hallway. Dawn smirked to herself as she saw Ursulas face bruised and her attempt at another layer of makeup made it look worse. Dawn watched her open her locker, looking into her mirror putting even MORE makeup on.

Dawn heard footsteps approach the hallway, but it wasn't any of Ursulas group. The person rounded the corner, and Dawn could only hopelessly stare at the males back. It was one of her friends, and Dawn did like him for a while now. She watched his perfect movements and sighed, he was too good to be true. He'd never notice her besides being in the small group of friends. Hell, he was like, half a foot taller than her? Maybe even a couple more inches.

Ursula looked up and squealed at the sight of the male a little ways away from her opening his locker. Dawn frowned as Ursula strutted flirtatiously to the 5'10 male, and flashed one of those stupid flirty smiles at the purple headed boy who completely ignored her.

"Hey Paulie" Ursula sweetly said, making Dawn roll her eyes.

"What now Ursula, I'm busy here." Paul grumbled back, obviously hating her presence. He had a certain girl on his mind,and she was not even close to who it was. He swopped his textbooks, then looked at the extra PBJ sandwich he made for her along with a water and an apple. He decided to do it, or else he'd regret it later, so he grabbed the items. She wasn't at lunch again, and for some reason he felt that she didn't have something to eat. He glanced at the perfect blue rose and card in his locker that he finally managed to decide to give to her later after her game, discarding his pride just for her. She was precious. And he was gonna ask that girl that was like nobody else, even when everyone else hates her for it. He was so deep in thought that he forgot about the brat next to him, and sighed as she blabbed about her nose bleeding from something.

"... And then she like, totally tried taking me out! I didn't even do anything to her Paulie!" Ursula complained, and Paul groaned out loud. He wished that he wasn't popular at all, he'd rather be a loner so he wouldn't have to deal with people like her.

"Maybe cause you deserved it." Paul muttered, whoever gave her a bloody nose this morning he gave respect for. Ursula always had those friends of hers following her around, and he thought it was pretty funny about Ursula and her bloody nose. He wished he saw it for himself.

"B-but Paulie! I didn't! Besides, what're you doing after school today?" Ursula asked as she applied lipgloss to her already too sparkly lips. Paul found it disgusting, she was like a human Barbie unicorn mashed together.

"Nothing that you need to know." Paul spat, then started closing his locker until Ursula gasped, making him raise his eyebrow, and before he could react to stop her, she had grabbed that blue rose and card and squealed. Paul felt his emotions waver furiously, how dare she grab those items that he was going to give to another girl.

"Oh em gee! Paulie you're like, the best ever!" Ursula yelled, and ripped open the card.

Paul snapped inside "Those are NOT for y-" he got interrupted by Ursula laughing flirtatiously, cutting off his sentence.

"I would totally like, go with you! I was actually gonna ask you that after school today! Like, can you come to the girls varsity basketball game tonight? Cause I'm gonna be cheerleading!" Ursula giggled and winked, making Paul already more irritated and furious enough.

"Give. That. Back." Paul spat, then swiping the items out of her hands and throwing them back into his locker, crumpling them. Well, he was getting a new rose and card for her since that witch touched it anyways.

"And no, I won't be going to the fucking varsity game because I don't do that shit, I don't care about that team. I care about the c-team and that's it. Also, how fucking dare you take something that's for someone else who deserves it, who I actually want to spend time with at that fucking dance!" Paul spat, his words full of anger that left Ursula speechless.

Ursula had her mouth open from his rejection, then scoffed. "Well handsome, someday you'll come crawling back to me, you'll see."

Paul rolled his eyes "The only time I'll crawl back is when you're fucking dead and I'll be thanking that you died bitch." he grunted back, making Ursula have teary eyes. 'pathetic' Paul thought.

He saw Ursula glance behind him as she gasped again so dramatically while pointing behind him. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Paulie! That's the girl over there that hurt me! She just randomly punched me, so she deserves hell!" Ursula said, and Paul rolled his eyes again, but decided to look back and see the very same girl who flooded his mind every day. She was at the end of the hallway crouched up into a ball sitting on the ground while leaning against the wall. She had her head resting in between her knees and arms wrapped around herself while having her hoodie up again, blocking out everything.

Paul looked in his locker again at the now smushed rose and card and sighed. After school if he was fast enough, he'd stop by Drews mini garden again to pick up another midnight blue rose and either make a card or sign. He may miss the first few minutes of the game, but he'd do anything to just see her.

"Paul? Paulie? Paulie!" Ursula screeched into his ear, making him snap from his thoughts again.

"Fuck off" He said, then slammed his locker and walked away from Ursula towards the girl.

Ursula gasped "Are you leaving me? For HER?!" She screamed, stomping her heel on the ground.

Paul carried the lunch he'd made for her and he approached her. Since she didn't move, he decided to sit right next to her, not caring about anything else, not about how there was only a few minutes before band class started, or how Ursula was screeching her lungs out. He didn't give one fuck about anything else but her. He'd skip class to be with this girl, well, they were in the same band class so it wasn't a big deal.

After a few seconds of silence, Paul sighed. "Troublesome" He muttered to her. When she didn't respond, he tapped her shoulder lightly.

Dawn snapped her swollen eyes open, ripping her earbuds out and slightly glanced to her left. She quickly looked away and dried up her tears with her sleeve, and kept her head faced that way. She didn't want him to see her awful face, not him. She'd already gotten harassed by many others about her face, and she couldn't, she wouldn't be able to keep it together if he did the same.

Paul kept his eyes on her, and decided once more. "Troublesome, you're looking the other way." He said.

Dawn gulped, hugging herself even closer than before as tears started building up again in her eyes that stung, feeling them slip onto her ugly bruised up face.

Paul watched her movements, what if she didn't want him there? What if she thought he was just a popular jock who was somehow in both of their friends groups?

"The bell's gonna ring soon, so you should go to class." Paul said, trying once more. He grabbed her hood and carefully pulled it off her head and sighed when he saw that she was wearing that beanie again over her hair. He's only seen her hair once, and that was when Miette ripped it off and set it on fire and then threw it back at Dawn, who had almost died if it hadn't been for him and Ash to use their waters and put out the fire that was on her clothes.

"I can't." She whispered, Paul barely even hearing her words.

"Why?" Paul asked.

"Because I can't." Dawn barely whispered, almost choking on her own words.

"Look at me Troublesome. Tell me why you can't." Paul said, he needed to know why. He couldn't just leave her.

Dawn shook her head, and she heard his beautiful voice again "Troublesome."

She swallowed her pride, and slowly turned her head a little to her left, but then glanced away, too afraid of the outcome.

Paul waited for her to look at him, as he saw her glance, but turn away. after another ten seconds, she stared at the ground as she turned her head towards him, not even meeting eye to eye with him. He grazed his fingers so softly against her chin, finally bringing her eyes up to his, and he had no words. Nothing. She didn't have to say anything, because he was utterly speechless.

He saw her tears swell up in her sad navy blue eyes as he scanned every purple bruise, every bloody cut, her swollen nose and a black eye. Paul saw fear written all over her face, sadness, depression. She was scared.

"What happened?" Paul whispered, and right as he saw a tear start falling from her eyes, she instantly shot up on her feet and ran away from him. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, ignoring the words Paul called after her.

"Dawn!" Paul yelled down the hallway, running to the stairs as he watched her sprint down, hearing her sobs that she desperately held back, but couldn't. She ran away, no longer in his sight. He heard the doors slam open and close, and couldn't feel more guilty than ever. She had ran away from HIM, and he glanced down at the lunch he never gave her. The bell rang, signaling that class had started. He groaned as he walked to class, thoughts roaming his head, not even worried about being late again.

Paul just hoped that she'd come back.


	3. Freshman year (part 2)

Dawn slowed her sprinting pace down after she was outside one of the buildings. She had band class next, but she was either gonna be late or not show up at all. Skipping sounded much better, but there was nothing to do.

But going back in that hellhole of a school? Anywhere but there was better.

Dawn took a deep breath and sighed, deciding on whether to ditch or go to class. If she ditched, then she wouldn't even be able to play in her basketball game today, but that only lead to more questions in her head. Did she even want to go today? It's not like anyone watched or cared for the c-team, everyone went to JV and varsity games, where Miette plays in JV.

On the boys teams, Ash plays on JV along with Gary and Drew, but Paul was another thing. Paul played on Varsity, and only as a freshman?! He was that good, he was the best player on the whole team. He started every game as a guard, averaging about 20 points per game. Yup, he was insanely good.

Dawn shook her head to escape her thoughts and bit her dry lips. Band was the only class where she had all of her friends, May, Misty, Serena, Leaf, Gary, Drew, Ash, and Paul. But did she really want to face them right now? She didn't want to embarrass them.

Dawn kept thinking to herself until the door opened, startling her as she spun around to see Misty giving her a soft worried smile.

"Come on Dawn, we're your friends. I heard that you took off out here so I decided to come getcha. We're in our band groups so we're in our practice room today. I told Harley that you were feeling sick, so you won't be late." Misty explained, making Dawn smile a tiny bit. Misty was always there for her, and she knew great excuses to tell the teachers why Dawn wasn't there.

"Thanks Misty, you didn't have to do that." Dawn said as they both walked towards their class. Misty shook her head, her orange side ponytail slightly bouncing.

"You have a game today, and today all of us are going to watch you, thank goodness nobody was busy or else I woulda hammered them." Misty said, pretending to whack the air with her invisible mallet.

"Really? I was kinda planning on not going anyways because of my face..." Dawn shyly admitted, making Misty look at her with sympathy.

"It's gonna be okay Dawn, as you say no need to worry because if anyone gives any shit to you I'll mallet them while the guys'll beat them up." Misty confidently said, making them both have a good chuckle.

They arrived at their practice room, where all of her friends were laughing, chatting, playing, and practicing. Dawn took a deep breath, then looked at Misty as she opened the door slowly. Dawn immediately pulled on her hood, covering most of her head while staring straight at the ground.

They walked in hearing all of them joking around, until they looked at Misty and Dawn. Everybody stopped in their tracks, silence filling the air instantly. Dawn could feel all their eyes on her as she shuffled to the nearest chair and sat in it, resting her head on her arms that were supported by her knees. She kept her face towards the ground so nobody could see, and the silence was almost to unbearable for her.

After a minute, Drew awkwardly coughed to break the uneasy silence, having everyone's attention go to him.

"So what do you guys feel like practicing?" Drew asked, shifting slightly in his seat.

Ash shot up his hand, eager to start playing the drums "We should play some music with a really good beat since I've got a ton of energy!"

Gary laughed "Can't you ever slow down Ashy boy?"

"Nope!" Ash said, then started munching on some goldfish snacks.

Ash went to his drumset while Gary grabbed his base and Drew grabbed the mic.

"Not again! How about I do the singing?" May said, making Drew flip his hair in response. "How about no June."

May puffed her red cheeks, and soon May was screaming at Drews face. Ash started to play a really loud beat on his drumset while Gary starting teasing him. Leaf and Misty got up and started yelling at Gary, creating even more commotion than needed. Serena was by May, trying to calm her down.

Dawn looked up to see all the chaotic arguing and noise and sighed as she grabbed her guitar, softly stringing notes on it. She ignored the yelling, focusing on the beautiful sound of her guitar as she rested it on her lap, sitting cross crossed on the chair. She remembered the notes she wrote about two weeks ago, softly humming along.

She still faced towards the ground, keeping her eyes only on her guitar as she strummed delicately and softly, expressing emotion through the guitar. As everybody kept yelling, she didn't notice the one person halfway across the room sitting in his chair staring at her through the commotion.

Dawn closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and started to softly sing.

" I'm walking fast through the traffic lights,

busy streets and busy lives and all we know, is touch and go.

We are alone with our changing minds,

We fall in love 'til it hurts or bleeds or fades in time."

Dawn stopped singing, taking a break as she kept softly strumming, tapping lightly with her finger to keep a steady beat.

As she was in her own little world, arguing still continued. Ash and Gary earning themselves whacked by Misty and her mallet while May and Drew kept calling each other names, and through all of the chaos, Paul sat in his chair staring at Dawn who sat in the corner, playing her guitar. He watched her the whole time, only hearing the delicate music she played. He knew she played the guitar, but the thing that made him freeze, holding his breath when she started to move her lips almost like if she was maybe singing.

Paul picked up his chair and sat closer to her, but not too close or else she would've noticed. He barely heard her soft, fragile voice, and he listened to her words. She had closed her eyes, and he could see the corners of her lips curve up slightly into a soft smile, barely noticeable to the world.

Paul couldn't believe his own ears. Did she really sing so perfectly? He scowled at himself for being so soft, but glanced back at Dawn who had stopped singing, strumming notes on her guitar.

He wanted to sit closer to her, but held himself back. As he glanced up at the clock, he realized there was only less than a minute before class ended. Paul grabbed his backpack and sling it over his shoulder standing up at the rest of the gang started picking up their equipment and putting it away.

"Three! Two! One!" Ash yelled, and right after he yelled, the bell rang.

"Wow Ash, you had to didn't you?" Drew smirked as he and May pushed each other slightly while walking out the door, with the rest of the gang following.

He started walking out, but turned around to see Dawn leaning against the wall, head facing the ground and hands shoved into her black hoodie pockets. Paul decided to approach her, even though he didn't think it was a good idea, but she didn't have anyone else to get help from.

As Paul walked towards her,she barely glanced up at him, then bolted to the door, slipping right past him and out the door.

"Dammit!" Paul yelled, slamming his palm against the wall violently,then walked out the room. She had gotten away from him again, and he caught a glimpse of her back for a second until she rounded the corner sharply, disappearing from his sight.

Paul had briefly told Misty about only seeing her run out the door, but that was it. He didn't say anything else, but when he saw Misty walk in with her, he felt a little bit relieved. He'd have to thank the redhead later.

*timeskip to end of school day*

As the final bell rang, Dawn fast walked out of the room, trying to ignore Hilda and Brianna making fun of her, while some other people joined in. Dawn blinked away the tears that started swelling and went into the girls locker room, where the c-team was getting ready for their game in about an hour and a half. Dawn went to her sports locker, which had cuss words written in sharpie all over it. As she pulled out her sports bag, she saw Misty smiling at her.

"Hey!" Misty yelled, then gave Dawn a hug, which she returned.

"Uhh Misty, what're you doing here?" Dawn asked, cocking her head to the side as Misty held a sign rolled up. "I wanted to show you what the girls and I made yesterday after school, to help you get motivated." Misty unrolled the sign, revealing her friends artwork.

Dawn smiled, feeling happy tears in her eyes as she read the sign. They did this for her? She read the sentence, and laughed at what it said.

'#5 on the court, but #1 in my heart! (Sorry Gary, your #2) GO DAWN!'

Dawn read the rest of the inspiring words that her friends wrote, and laughing at the pictures of burgers May had drawn.

"Misty... this is... just so inspiring. Thank you so much!" Dawn said as she wiped a tear away as she hugged her friend again, both of them light-heartedly laughing together.

"Dawn, we wanted you to feel confident in yourself. Go get 'em on the court, cause we're all your number one fans along with your mom!" Misty announced, making Dawn feel so grateful. She had the best friends ever, even if she wasn't to them. She didn't deserve any friends like them.

"I'm gonna make sure May didn't eat all the food we snuck in the backpacks, so I'll see you in the gym. We'll be waving this sign around like crazy just warning you." Misty happily said, then waved as she ran out the locker room.

Dawn smiled to herself as she got herself ready in the home uniform, consisting of white as the background with red and black outlining the jersey. The numbers and letters were outlined in red and filled with black. Yes, their school mascot was a flipping wildcat (I kid you not but my school is too XD) so everybody played high school musical songs in the band for the varsity games.

Dawn slipped on her black sweats and Nike dry fit warmup jersey, which was her favorite piece of clothing she ever owned. She saw her other teammates smile at her as they got ready so Dawn smiled back. This was one of the only safe places she felt comfortable with, her team always included her. They were all like a second family to her, even though she was still the shortest by far.

"So Dawn you gonna go out there and scare those mean Jaguars away?" One of her teammates asked her, and they all laughed together. The Jaguars were the rival school, being Eastern Sinnoh High, and the rivalry between the schools was insane. the Jaguars colors were blue and white, opposite of their own school colors.

"Fuck yeah I am. I'm gonna make them get nightmares from these bruises Ursula and her squad left. Hey, maybe Ursula did actually do something productive to help me." Dawn replied, having the team crack up.

"Let's go ladies! Woohoo!" Another teammate yelled, making the team motivated.

As Dawn got ready with the team, Misty was out in the gym along with May, Drew, Ash, Gary, Leaf, and Serena.

"May! Stop eating all the sour gummy worms!" Leaf shouted, slapping Mays hand away from snatching the delicious candy.

May pouted and stomped her foot on the bleacher "But they were calling to me!" Misty facepalmed as she heard Gary laughing while Drew smirked.

"June, they were probably telling you to lay off the sugar or else you won't fit those jeans anymore." Drew smirked, making May instantly furious, her face going red from anger and embarrassment.

"EXCUSE ME?!" May screamed, then tried lunging for Drew until Misty and Leaf held her back. Drew flipped his hair and shook his head. "I knew you couldn't keep your hands off me." Drew said back to the now flustered May.

"N-no! Stupid grasshead!" May shouted, then sat back down after glaring at the green haired boy. Leaf raised an eyebrow at her, telling her to not eat the snacks.

Misty looked at her friends, but realized that one was missing. She counted, and realized that the plumhead was gone.

"Hey guys, do you know where Paul is?" Misty asked curiously making the group glance around to double check just in case if Paul had been ignoring them, but no luck.

"Well he did say that he may be a tiny bit late for some reason, but I'm not sure why." Serena spoke, earning everyone's attention.

"Wonder where he could've gone?" Ash asked as Gary shrugged his shoulders in response.

"He better not forget or else I'm gonna kill him!" Leaf said as she gritted her teeth together. Ash nodded his head in agreement while Gary scoffed at him.

"You think you're gonna kill him Ashy boy? That's a first!" Gary laughed as Ash punched his arm "Hey, chill bro!" Gary said as he rubbed his arm.

'He better not forget, or else Dawn would be so heartbroken' Misty thought to herself as she took a sip of her water.

With Paul, well, he was sprinting his ass off to his apartment that he shared with Ash after he had gotten a navy blue rose from Drew's and Gary's apartment. Since Western Sinnoh High School was the biggest high school along with their rival Eastern Sinnoh High School, and the school was filthy rich, they had apartments instead of tiny dorms.

Paul didn't even bother using the elevator, he couldn't have anything slowing him down. Since he was a good height and had a long stride, he skipped every two steps, feeling the burn in his legs as he ran. Yes, his apartment was on the fifth floor out of all five, running up those stairs was hell of a workout.

He was running even faster since after school Ursula had tried to flirt with him AGAIN, making him waste precious time. Finally arriving on the fifth floor, he sprinted down the hallway while pulling out his keys, careful not to damage the rose he held in his other hand.

Paul's hands shook from all the adrenaline flowing through his body as he slammed open his door and shut it as he threw his backpack across the room, landing on one of the couches as he sprinted to his room.

He passed Ashs room and he smelled the strong scent of his leftover pizza Ash had ordered two days ago. Paul gagged from the too-old pizza stench, not even wanting to know what was in that room.

Paul quickly rushed to his desk and pulled out a blank sheet of poster paper that was about one foot by two feet big. He laid it out flat hamburger way, not hotdog way because it looks weird when posters are like that in his opinion, and grabbed his huge ass markers. As he made his sign, he couldn't believe that he was doing this for that Troublesome girl. Paul shook his head as he grabbed the black marker, writing a few words down. Since Paul was a decent drawer, he drew a basic basketball.

He ran his hand through his hair as he finished, rolling up the small sign carefully. On his way out, he passed by the bag of Reece's minis that he meant to bring too, so he grabbed those as well. Whenever he saw her eating candy, the only thing she ate was Reece's peanut butter cups so he decided to buy some for her as well.

Paul made sure he had his wallet, keys and phone before he left, sprinting all the way back to the school. He just hoped that he wouldn't be late.

A/N: Hey! Whew, another chapter done! I'm working on the upcoming chapters also, hoping to upload asap. The lyrics were from Taylor Swifts song "state of grace" acoustic version. Adios amigos!


	4. Freshman year (part 3)

JC: Yay another chapter! *celebrates while confetti falls from ceiling*

Dawn: Um...

Paul:... Don't look at me Troublesome.

Dawn: I wasn't!

JC: SHUT UP BOTH OF YOU! It's time for celebration because I finished another chapie! Well, it's kinda short though, but I'll hopefully be putting up part 4 real soon! :D

Dawn was feeling very nervous. More like extremely nervous. Anything made her nervous at this point. She had a bruised face and she was going to play in a basketball game. Yup, not nerve wrecking whatsoever. She always started since she was the best one on the team, even though she thought she was skilled enough to be a starter on JV. But you know, school coaches and their favoritism, and the coaches didn't favor Dawn at all. It was probably because she was so short and they just didn't want to have a shrimp on the better teams.

Right now, Dawn was in the gym warming up as her team did layup drills. Dawn never did those basic drills, instead she'd put on her headphones and play some rap music to get herself ready while closing her eyes and dribbling with two basketballs. She always was a fan of Stephan Curry, so she started warming up the same way. (A/N: Stephan Curry is BAE! My fav NBA player ever)

Dawn kept practicing her handles, knowing that she was going to be doubled again by the opposing team. She but her tongue as she quickened her dribbling speed, dribbling between the legs, behind the back, wrap arounds, switching and crossovers at a fast pace.

As Dawn continued to warmup, Misty, Leaf, Gary, Serena, Ash, May, and Drew were all literally staring at the blunette, shocked and impressed by her ball handles.

"Tell me why she isn't on varsity right now." May said as they all had their jaws wide open. They've never seen the warmups, just a few minutes of a game, and man were they speechless at Dawn and her handles.

"She needs to swing up big time! Nobody else on the girls' teams has handles like that! Not even close! Heck, she should play for the guys varsity team with that skill!" Gary exclaimed, Ash agreeing by nodding his head while chewing on candy. Ashs' jaw still hung open a bit, making chunks of slobbered-up, pre-chewed candy fall onto the bleachers.

"Ash! That's disgusting!" Misty yelled as she smacked his head. Ash shyly rubbed his head "Sorry Mist, didn't notice."

"Ha! Ash drools like a baby! If he keeps that up he'll never get a homecoming date!" Gary laughed as Ash fixed his hat while pouting, then shoving more candy into his mouth.

"Speaking of homecoming, who are you gonna ask Gary?" May deviously asked while smirking as Gary slightly blushed. Gary opened his mouth to respond with an excuse, but right then Paul had flung through the gym doors, looking a bit wiped and tired.

"Hey Paul! Where've you been?" Gary asked, hoping to avoid the subject May had brought up. May glared at him, she knew he was trying to swerve from the question. "Gary! Stop avoiding the question you baby!" May yelled, putting Gary in his spot.

Paul sat down and took a deep breath, but then wondered what they were talking about. "What's the question Maple?"

May huffed as she turned towards Paul "The topic homecoming came up, and I asked who Gary was gonna ask to it, but he's trying to avoid it!" She pointed at Gary, who put his hands up. "Hey! Maybe I don't know yet! How bout you Ashy boy, who you gonna try asking?" Gary said, smirking as everyone then stared at Ash, who started to turn pink from blushing.

"Um..u-uh... Someone! How about you Drew?" Ash quickly said, sighing in relief as Drew was now the center of attention. He couldn't bear to tell Gary that he was planning on asking Serena, no way since Gary would tell everyone probably.

Before Drew could respond, Misty spoke up. "Obviously they're not gonna tell us. We'll be back soon, so you boys better not pull anything!" Misty warned as the girls walked off who knows where.

"Whew! Thank goodness! May literally had me till you came in Paul! You're a lifesaver bro." Gary said as he patted Paul's back, who glared in response.

"Who're you gonna ask Gary?" Ash asked, laughing as Gary groaned. "I was gonna ask Leaf, but Red already did so I'm asking Misty. What bout you Ashy boy? Care to share who your dense head is thinking of?" Gary said as Ash made a pouty face.

"Hey! Well, I'm gonna ask Serena!" Ash exclaimed, making Gary nod in approval. "Good choice Ashy boy good choice. Now what about you Drew?"

Drew flipped his hair "I'm going to ask May. I'm just trying to figure out how." Gary smirked "All you gotta do is give her a red rose with a bunch of food with a sign and it's a wrap!" Drew rolled his eyes at Gary.

During the conversation, Paul had barely been listening to them as he watched Dawn dribble two basketballs at the same time. She was insanely good, almost as good as his own handles probably, and that was saying something because Paul had the best handles in the school. He couldn't believe what he was watching. Was this even real?! Any why was she stuck on the c-team when the girls on varsity couldn't even dribble that well without the ball being stolen by the opponent. She should at least replace Miette on JV since she sucks.

Paul looked back at the guys discussing homecoming. Gary then turned to Paul, since he was the only one who hasn't told them."Hey Paul, who you gonna ask? You know Ursula was going on a rage about you rejecting her today, and I'm grateful that you did!" Paul rolled his eyes, of course he wouldn't go with that stuck up brat that was always in his business.

Paul pointed to the items he brought for Troublesome "Who the fuck do you think Oaktree?" Gary looked over at his rolled up sign he made, the deep navy blue rose and the peanut butter cups.

"HEYYYY! You're actually asking Dawn?! I give you props man!" Gary said as he punched Paul in the arm lightly. "You know Ursula's gonna be raging when this gets around school. I mean, one of the most popular guys in the freshman class asking a Bea-"

"Gary, shut up." Drew said, interrupting Gary before he went on his blabbering about girls and dates again. Paul smirked and Ash cracked up as Gary closes his mouth, then they all watched Dawn again. Paul was speechless, she was still dribbling?!

"Only a few minutes till it starts. Come on you stupid clock hurry up!" Ash yelled out loud, making some of the girls from the Jaguars team start giggling.

Gary clamped a hand over Ashs mouth "Ashy boy! Be quiet!" He hissed, making Drew and Paul snicker. Ash rubbed his nose "Whoops, my bad! Forgot that there was people around here." Gary fell down anime style while Drew sweatdropped and Paul facepalmed.

"You're. So. Pathetic." Paul muttered, as Gary cracked up. "I, for the billionth time, second whatever the hell Paul said about Ash again."

"Hey! I don't mean to be stupid!" Ash whined as the three guys snickered at the dense teenager.

The doors opened with May, Serena, Leaf and Misty walking back in. "I'm surprised Ash is still one piece from being alone with you guys." Leaf said as the girls laughed, making Ash shove gummy bears into his mouth to avoid from being even more embarrassed.

May looked into one of the two backpacks that had snacks in it, revealing that Ash had eaten all of the snacks from one backpack so far. "Ash! You're supposed to SHARE YOU STUPID PERSON!" May screamed as she pouted, obviously angry about the fact that Ash ate all the sour gummy worms.

Ash gulped, totally forgetting to save some sour gummy worms for May. "Uh...sorry May!" He nervously apologized, hoping he wouldn't get smacked by any of the girls. May furiously pointed at him "I'll let you go this time Ash, but next time your dead!" May said as she sat down, her words scaring Ash.

As they were in the bleachers waiting for the last minute to go by, they went onto their phones on their social media. Paul quickly glanced at his phone and rolled his eyes at the crapload of notifications he got from his Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. He discarded them so they wouldn't waste his battery, then shoved the device back in his jeans pocket. He watched Dawn set one basketball down, throwing the other to the refs. Paul looked at her bruised face and felt guilt rise in his stomach again, remembering every detail of the earlier events. She looked so confident right now, it amazed him by how much more energetic she was.

Dawn didn't dare look up at her friends, or else she might get self-conscious and start holding back. 'Don't hold back Dawn, just calm. Down. It's just a game.' She thought to herself as she quickly wiped the bottom of her black and grey camoflaudgye Nike hyperdunks.

She saw her mom smile at her as she held her video camera in her small hands. Dawn smiled back quickly, then returning to her normal blank face she wore all the time. She set herself up around the circle as the red blew the whistle, then tossing the ball up into the air. Her player tipped the ball towards Dawn, and she instantly grabbed it and took off like a bullet to the left side of the basket. She saw a couple Jaguars try cutting her off, but Dawn dribbled to the right once, faked a layup then spun around and made the left hand layup with ease.

"OOOHHHHH!" Gary, May and Ash yelled as they watched Dawn completely fake out two defenders. Leaf, Misty and Serena cheered as Drew and Paul just clapped, since they weren't the type to scream their lungs out. Paul watched her movements, and they were perfect. Her spin move after that fake shot had actually shocked him, he wasn't expecting her to do anything like that.

Dawn rolled her eyes as she heard their voices. 'This'll be easy' she thought to herself. The girl she was guarding on the wing was a few inches taller than her, but Dawn held her ground easily. As their point dribbled up, the girl grabbed her jersey and tried pulling Dawn behind her, which pissed her off. Dawn grabbed the Jaguars jersey back and shoved her a bit, hopefully warning the Jaguar that she wasn't messing around. Dawn looked at her number, which was #2.

"Get your hands off me you bruised face bitch." the #2 Jaguar spat at Dawn, who continued holding her jersey since she wouldn't let go either. "Not my problem." Dawn said back, pissing #2 off. The girl shoved Dawn really hard, making Dawn stumble back a few feet.

"Ball!" #2 yelled as her teammate passed her the ball, but Dawn wasn't letting her get the ball, hell no! Dawn sprinted to the pass, stealing the ball and taking off towards the hoop again, wrapping the ball around her back to show off, then quickly finishing a reversed layup, smirking at the girl. "Guess the only thing you can hold onto is my jersey right 2?" Dawn spat sarcastically into #2s ear, making her try shoving her again, but Dawn moved away a little so the girl tripped on her own feet and stumbled to the ground.

"Oh man Dawn's killin' her! She's beating someone three inches taller than her!" Gary laughed, making everyone laugh as Paul smirked. He watched her start to hold the Jaguars jersey back, and thought it was hilarious when the girl tried shoving Dawn towards the sideline, but tripped over herself. Troublesome was sure entertaining alright. After the first quarter, they were ahead 30-3 with Dawn scoring 18 of those points. She sat out in the second quarter to let the bench players play, since the other team wasn't even good.

At the half, it was 40-5, and Dawn just wanted the game to end. I mean, they were gonna win by a lot anyways, so why continue the game when the other team can barely shoot? Dawn sat in the chair chilling as her teammates were putting up shots during the halftime.

"Hey Dawn!" May whispered in her ear, scaring the crap out of Dawn. She jumped in her seat a little from her, making May, Leaf, Serena, and Misty crack up. They were all right behind her seat.

"That girl got so pissed at you when you smack talked her back! It was so funny!" May laughed as Dawn slightly smiled at the memory. "She started it, and I hate it when people do that! I mean, I know I'm short but she got what she deserves. She called me a fucking bitch, so I just decided to make her pissed." Dawn replied, making the girls laugh as the guys in the bleachers snickered.

"You've got most of your points already, so don't worry bout anything. This game is practically over anyways." Serena said happily as the girls continued to chat.

Paul smirked to himself as he heard Dawn talk about #2, which he found extremely funny. As halftime ended, Dawn started again and scored another 6 points, then getting subbed out for the rest of the game since the Jaguars hadn't even scored 10 points yet.

Paul started thinking about her again as he watched her sit in her chair. His fingers twitched from his sudden nervousness inside himself, so he ran a hand through his hair while sighing. What was she gonna say to him when he asked her? Would she say yes? Reject him?! No, don't think negatively, think about anything else.

Paul bit his tongue as the game ended, feeling his legs slightly shake under him. He wasn't used to the feeling since it was so foreign to him, but he couldn't go back now. Hopefully it would turn out alright.

The team went to the lockeroom after his friends had said their congrats and goodbyes to Dawn, leaving him to wait for her. He grabbed the items and walked out of the gym towards the hallway and leaned against the wall waiting for her to walk out.

Hell, he was nervous alright, but chickening out now would be low, he wouldn't forgive himself. He crossed his arms as he waited, hoping he wouldn't mess this one chance up.


	5. Freshman year (part 4)

Dawn: there's a part 4? How many parts do you need for frosh year?

JC: As many as I need, don't judge! Gotta have the story flow.

Ash: What's a frosh? And I haven't read the parts yet since it's hard to read...

JC: Oh.

Dawn: My.

Paul: Fu-

Ash: SWEAR JAR!

JC: Just go read it if you haven't! And that includes you too Dawn and Paul! Maybe you'll like it!

Dawn and Paul: Okay...

Dawn was the last to leave since she organized her sports locker again. She brushed her hair, then shoved her black beanie on, tucking all of her blue locks into it again. She decided to wear her sweats since they were a thousand times better looking and comfortable, and threw on her black hoodie sweatshirt. She grabbed her school backpack and put it on while grabbing her sports bag as she went out of the locker-room.

Dawn sighed, remembering that her mom had to go to her 2nd job after her game, leaving her at school till the girls varsity game was over, which ends around 10:30, and it was only 4. That means she would have to stick around to see Miette play on JV while Ursula lead the cheerleaders along with Hilda, Brianna and Melody during the varsity game.

Dawn was so hungry, she hadn't eaten even a small meal in two days now, only about ten granola bars, some water and a cup noodle, but that was hardly anything substantial. She was exhausted, feeling so weak and cold to the bone. All she wanted was a nice meal and nap without being screamed at, hit, beat, teased, she just wanted silence, but obviously that was impossible for her.

She threw her sports bag to the ground as she sat down, leaning against the wall. She was soooo exhausted, and starving. Dawn leaned her head on her knees again as she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to think of a way to get one simple meal. She was snapped out of her thoughts as someone tapped her right shoulder lightly, making her glance up to see Paul there.

Her eyes widened at the sight. She didn't think after today he'd come up to her again, not in a million years.

"You okay?" Paul asked as he looked at her straight in the eyes. Dawn bit her lip, debating in her head whether to tell him that she was just hungry, but she didn't want to be embarrassed or teased at.

Dawn decided not to, so she faked a tiny smile "Yeah, no need to worry bout me." Paul kept her gaze until she looked away, knowing that something was wrong with the Troublesome girl. "What's wrong? And don't lie to me this time." Paul said seriously, making Dawn gulp.

She shifted her body, feeling guilt and embarrassment rise inside her. "It's...nothing that bad, I just um... need a ride home." Dawn quickly said, hoping that he'd believe her and walk away. She wasn't really telling the truth, but it's not like she was lying either.

Paul raised an eyebrow, he definitely didn't believe that corny excuse. "That's it? Sorry Troublesome but I don't believe you. I saw your mom here watching your game." He looked at her face as he saw her eyes start to get watery and instantly regret what he said. He messed up again.

Dawn sniffled as a couple years rolled down her face "S-s-she w-went t-to he-er second j-job." She choked out, trying to hold back her tears and sobs, but it was too late. She felt so emotional, weak, worthless. Like nothing. She couldn't even focus right as she just let out her painful sobbing, holding nothing back. She felt like dying, anything to end the physical pain, the emotional pain aching inside her, eating her alive. She wanted it to just end for good.

Paul's eyes widened as she stuttered out her words, and he felt his heart ache as she started sobbing right in front of him. He wish he could take his words back, he'd do it in a heartbeat. Her heartbreaking sobs rang in his ears as he sat down right next to her, slowly bringing her into a hug, cradling the fragile, delicate girl in his arms. He had never done this before, anyone would be better than him. Ash, Gary, Drew, May, Leaf, Serena, Misty, they all would know exactly what to do, but he didn't. So all he did was just hold Dawn in his arms, feeling her body trembling against his, her sobs muffled by his sweatshirt that she'd buried her face in. He felt like an ass, a jerk, heartless for leading her into her emotional state right now. Paul just held her for awhile, sitting there as he let her cry her tears. Regret and guilt stabbed him repeatedly, almost making it too hard for him to see her cry.

"I-I... I-I'm n-not w-worth..a-anyth-thing...n-no o-one c-cares! I-I... J-just want-t i-it...t-to e-end!" Dawn desperately sobbed, clenching onto Pauls sweatshirt as she poured out her emotions.

Paul instantly gripped her shoulders, making her look right into his eyes. "Don't EVER say that again! Because I CARE! I've always cared, and I'll never stop! Stop thinking about that bullshit! You're worth everything!" Paul yelled, making Dawn stare at him with her eyes wide open. Dawn felt more tears appear in her eyes, but she couldn't look away from Pauls eyes. Usually they were so dark, so dark gray it almost looked black, but right now they were a light gray, filled with emotion she couldn't decipher.

Dawn was speechless. Did he really care for her? Was he always on her side all this time?

"So tell me what's wrong." Paul breathes out as soft as he could, loosening his grip on her shoulders.

"I'm just exhausted...and..." Dawn couldn't even finish her sentence because it was so embarrassing, telling someone that she was starving and that she hasn't eaten a meal in the past two days.

"What?" Paul asked, trying to figure the blunette out. Why wasn't she telling him? Was it too personal?

"... I'm just...a little bit hungry that's all." Dawn whispered. Paul looked at her deeply, trying to put the pieces together. She was like his puzzle; she was broken and he was the one trying to put them back together.

Paul pulled out the sandwich, Apple and water he meant to give to her earlier and handed them to her.

Dawn stared at the food in her hands, feeling her eyes water both with sadness and...happiness. She'd never gotten any food from anyone besides her mother. Dawn then shook her head, feeling selfish. "No, I can't. I'll eat something when I get home." She tried giving the food back to Paul, who refused to lift a hand. "Don't be stupid Troublesome. When's the last time you ate something substantial?"

Dawn gulped. She looked down at her hands as she replied. "...two days..."

Paul's eyes widened, too shocked to even reply. How could she be living like this?! His mind filled with more thoughts, until a realization hit him so hard in his chest that it ached and stung more painfully than before.

'The hiding...the self consciousness...the scars and bruises...moms second job...lonely and heartbroken...she couldn't possibly have an abus..!? No, that CAN'T be true!' Paul thought to himself as watched her nibble on the sandwich he'd made. Was she really all alone?

"I also brought you something else because I need to ask a question." Paul said, having Dawn look at him curiously. He got up, wishing he didn't need to because of her right next to him. He felt her gaze on him as he held the rose in his right hand along with the poster and the Reece's in his left. He hid them behind his back as she stood up, looking up at him slightly confused. His heart was racing a million beats per second, hoping he wouldn't screw it up.

"Troublesome" Paul started, seeing a small smile appear on her face. He slowly brought out the items from behind his back, seeing Dawns eyes widen tremendously. He unrolled the poster in front of him "will you go to homecoming with me?" He confidently asked, seeing her eyes water up and she smiled a real smile at him.

Dawn couldn't believe her own eyes. He was asking her?! No, this had to be a dream! He had any other girl to ask in the school and he asked her?!

Dawn nodded as she felt fresh happy tears fall down her face, since she couldn't rely on her voice right now because she was utterly speechless. She looked at his handsome face, seeing a tiny blush on his cheeks.

"Yes" Dawn managed to whisper as she engulfed Paul into a hug, feeling his arms wrap around her tiny figure tightly.

Paul felt his heart skip at least a dozen beats when she hugged him, the tiniest smile grazing upon his lips. She was so happy, he didn't want it to end. He never was the type for hugs and fluffy stuff, but this emotion he didn't recognize felt amazing.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, then Dawn grabbed all her stuff and walked with Paul down the hallway, feeling happier than ever. Is this the feeling of being happy? Feeling cared for? Those thoughts roamed in her mind as a silly smile was plastered on her face.

Paul looked down at the girl who was smiling goofily, and he couldn't stop looking at her smile. That was the first realist smile he's ever seen on her, and it made him feel a lot better, lifting a thousand pounds off of his chest.

"Do you have a ride Troublesome?" Paul asked as she glanced up at him, making her smile fade away.

"Yeah, my...dad's picking me up at 10:45 tonight. It's fine." Dawn replied, feeling sadness wave across her again. She was so happy that she forgot about everything else, and now she was back into her reality.

Paul checked his phone, it was only 4:30 right now. Her ride was in over 6 hours?! "Hey, if you don't want to stay here, you can come to my apartment. Ash'll be there besides me." Paul suggested, not wanting to leave the girl by herself. Who knows what'll happen to her when Ursula shows up with her crew.

"You don't have to do that, really. I'll be fine." Dawn sheepishly said, feeling already terribly selfish for all Paul has done for her. She didn't deserve him and she knew it, even though she really did like him that way.

Paul lightly grabbed her arm in his hand. "I'm not leaving you here. You'll be safer at my apartment, and I'll walk you back to where your dad can pick you up." He mumbled as Dawn gave in, silently agreeing to his kind offer. Paul let go of her arm and looked at the girl beside him carrying her bags.

"Troublesome, hand me your bag. You look like a hippie when you walk like that." Paul said as he grabbed her bag for her, sliding it on over his shoulder.

Dawn felt a huge amount of weight being lifted off herself. "Thank you" she quietly whispered, seeing him smirk at her. They walked to his apartment, and boy were those stairs brutal to her body, feeling her legs burning with tiredness. At the last floor, she stopped and leaned on her knees, feeling way to exhausted as she breathed heavily.

Paul looked back to see Dawn struggling, completely out of breath. She was leaning over on her knees, taking heavy breathes from over exhaustion. "We're almost there" he said, hoping to encourage her to walk again. He felt a frown graze his lips, feeling bad for making her walk this far. She has admitted to being to exhausted, and he wasn't helping her with that matter.

"Okay" Dawn managed to barely breath out as she found a tiny ounce of energy felt in herself, knowing it'll burn out quickly. She followed Paul down the hallway and to his door. He unlocked it, opening the door and walked in and turned around to lead her in as well.

She gasped at how nice everything was, her house was nothing compared to the pleasant apartment. Her house was a wreck, bottles everywhere from her father drinking and drugs scattered as well, making the air thick and nasty. She stared at how colorful everything was, the fresh air filling her lungs, how everything looked so comfortable and how she felt safe. Dawn envied Paul for having such a nice and safe place to sleep, eat, wash, do homework, everything.

Paul turned around again as he heard her gasp slightly, watching her eyes look over everything in the small kitchen and main room with the two couches, table and TV. He noticed how surprised she looked, glancing at everything with awe.

"Troublesome...you okay?" He asked, as he saw her shyly point to the TV. "You have a tv?" She asked him, making his eyes slightly widen. Did she not have one?

"Yeah." He answered as she looked at the couch. "Is that your own couch?" Dawn asked him, and Paul nodded in response. He saw sadness fill her eyes and couldn't help but feel a pang of emotion hit him. Why was she asking him these question?

He showed her the bathroom, which she thought was cool, Making him utterly confused but somewhat concerned. He just pointed to Ashs door, which they could hear snoring come from inside the room. She laughed as he lead her to his room.

He opened the door, showing her the inside. He watched Dawns face, trying to figure out what she was thinking.

Dawn could only feel more envious, wishing she had a room like this. Her room was only 7 by 8 feet big, not even having anything compared to Pauls room. She only had an old nasty rug to sleep on the cold wooden floor and a tiny drawer for everything else she had, which was barely anything but drawings, a few pieces of clothes and a few random items. Her window was broken, feeling colder and unsafe. Dawn looked at his fancy desk, his closet, his own flatscreen TV on the wall, a nice soft chair, a huge drawer and his bed. She had always wanted a bed to sleep on, and she couldn't bear to be in such a safe place, feeling like she didn't belong.

"You...have this?" Dawn asked as Paul raised an eyebrow.

"What? My own room that I don't have to share?" Paul questioned, as he saw her shake her head. He saw her point to his bed, seeing her eyes start to look glassy.

"A bed." Dawn whispered as she could only imagine how warm she'd be at night, not waking up several times from the coldness, or danger that lurked outside or from her father. She'd always dreamt of having a bed, since it was too far out from her grasp.

Pauls eyes widened bigger than ever from her simple words. Did she not have what he did? Is that why she asked about everything she saw? He saw a tear escape her eyes as she kept her gaze on his too worn out bed. He needed a new one badly since he's had it for his whole life, but he instantly felt an emotion of...gratefulness inside him. He had always complained to Reggie about not having something, but seeing Dawn like this made him appreciate what he had. She didn't even have a bed, while he complained about not having a good enough one.

"Oh Troublesome..." Paul mumbled softly, feeling his face soften as another few tears rolled down her face. She wiped her eyes quickly and slowly walked over to his bed and delicately touched one of his blankets, rubbing the fleece material between her thumb and pointer finger.

Paul could only stare at the girl, feeling so selfish about everything. "It's so soft." Dawn said, and Paul couldn't take it anymore. He turned around and quickly walked to the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He leaned his hands on the counter as he felt something sting his eyes. He blinked a few times as he saw that his vision had become blurry from...tears. He never cried, ever, and the girl he had brought with him had made him feel so guilty, so spoiled at himself. She envied his blankets, making him not bear the strong emotions that keep stabbing himself repeatedly.

Paul thought to himself for a few minutes, still leaning on the counter. Thoughts swarmed his head, making him shut his eyes tightly to straighten his thoughts out. He finally came to a conclusion as he walked back out and into his room doorway, finding her still standing in the same spot.

He was the one to build her shattered pieces back together, and he had to start somewhere.

Paul walked over next to her "I don't mind if you rest on it, I'll get us something to eat." She looked at him with her big blue eyes widened, and started to open her mouth to deny but he shook his head. Dawn didn't move for about a minute, until she spoke up.

"I've never slept on a bed before...or a blanket."

Paul sadly glanced at her, not even knowing what to do or say anymore. He lifted up his blankets as she looked for him to the blankets. "Here, just slide under." He said as she refused to move.

"Troublesome, don't feel guilty, it's ok." He spoke again, hoping she would be convinced by his words. Dawn slowly started to, but her hands were shaking so much that sh pulled back. She was so focused on her quivering and shaking hands that she didn't realize Paul had picked her up bridal style until she felt his chest and arms secure her. Dawn could only watch as he set her in his bed and pull the blankets over her, a little below her chin.

"Get some rest." Paul said, taking a look at her shocked face, then walked out, closing the door behind him.

Dawn felt frozen, feeling the comfortable fuzzy warmth around her. She was laying in a bed, and she felt herself silently crying, her salty tears cascading down her face as she flipped to her side and curled up into a ball. Endless tears escaped her eyes until they slowly closed, falling into a deep sleep.

Gary: *sniffles* that was so emotional! WAAHHHH!

Ash: *cries with Gary* WAAAHH!

JC: *tearing up* it turned out so emotional... Why did I make myself cry?!

Paul: It's just a story.

JC: *glares* Hey! You haven't even read it like I told you and Dawn to do! So GET BUSY!

Dawn: O.O okay...

Paul: Whatever.

JC: And you guys are gonna have a quiz on the chapters so far!

Dawn and Paul: *groan* No...

JC: Yes! Woohoo!

Gary: is the next chapter gonna be emotional too? *wipes tears with his sleeve*

Ash: *blows nose into tissue, making a honk sound*

JC: Maybe... I can't tell you guys! These chapters are supposed to be emotional, so you might need a few more boxes of tissue and chocolate.

Dawn: Why do I look so sad in the picture?

Paul: why am I even in the picture?

JC: Read. It'll solve your answers.

Dawn and Paul: -_- okay...


	6. Freshman year (part 5)

*warning* has some swearing in the chapter.

Paul had put in a frozen pizza in the oven, then started to get the salad out of the fridge. Ash walked into the kitchen yawning and rubbing his eyes, waking up from bing hungry again.

"Hey Paul, what time is it?" Ash asked, blinking rapidly to clear his vision.

"It's about 7:35 stupid, check your phone." Paul replied boringly, as he decided to go on his phone while he waited for the pizza. He'd make the salad in a few minutes.

Ash sniffed the air, smelling delicious pepperoni pizza in the oven. "It smells amazing!" Ash yelled excitedly, only to be loudly shushed by Paul.

"Shut up! You're too loud!" Paul said as he ran a hand through his hair. He hoped that Ashs' loud voice hasn't woken her up, if she was even asleep. He hasn't checked on her since, to give her some privacy.

Ash looked at him funny "Why do we need to be quiet?" Paul groaned, how stupid was he? "First, you're annoying the crap out of me. Two, you're going to piss everyone else near us off, and three, because Troublesome is here."

Ashs eyes widened slightly "Wait... Dawn's here? Can I go say hi! I saw her today in homeroom and I didn't really get to-"

"Can you shut up?!" Paul yelled, making Ash stop in his never ending blabbering again. Ash sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Whoops, I forgot!"

Paul rolled his eyes again as he started making the salad, sighing. At least Ash had shut up, so it was silent besides the salad being tossed around in a large bowl.

He waited until the oven beeped, signaling that the pizza was done cooking. He pulled it out and set it on top of the oven to let the mouthwatering food cool off. Ash had already started to drool, inching closer to hopefully snatch the whole thing.

"That's not for you, when's the last time you made dinner?" Paul asked as Ash rubbed his head trying to think. "Uh... Maybe a few months ago?"

"Exactly. So don't touch it." Paul said as he walked back to his room. He heard Ash groan and cry from not being able to devour the pizza, or else he would be killed by Paul.

Paul slowly and silently opened his door and glanced at his bed. He saw that Dawn was curled up in a ball on the very edge of his bed sleeping. He didn't want to wake her up, but she had to eat. He walked over and ran his fingers through the few midnight blue locks that fell out from being stuffed in her beanie. Her face looked so relaxed right now, even from the bruises and cuts he thought she still looked beautiful.

Paul froze instantly after he thought that. Did he just say she was...beautiful? He ran a hand through his bangs and gripped them, why was he being so soft?! At school he was always the one popular guy who just didn't talk to anyone, but this girl was changing him, and he realized that a few months ago when school started. Paul had known her since they were in 2nd grade, when she was the new kid that everyone made fun of for being different, small, quiet. There was always something different about her, and he had always wanted to find what that was. She was a special person to him. He let go of his bangs and just accepted his thoughts of the tiny girl in front of him. Maybe someday she'll be able to come out of her protective walls and barriers and show the world who she really was, instead of locking everything up, bottling the emotions and pain.

If she wasn't going to do that, he just wanted her to crack the door open a bit to let him help her.

Paul finally decided to wake her up, so he squatted down to her level and gently tapped her shoulder a few times."Troublesome, there's some food ready to eat, and you can lay down afterwards again."

Dawn stirred slightly, pulling her knees closer to her face as she winced from the pain stinging and aching inside her body. She bit her lip, being a reaction to waking up everyday to her immense pain. Her eyes were terribly dry, and she felt her eyes sting horribly when she attempted to open them. She started to slowly stretch out, anticipating the utterly horrible, aching pain from all her muscles and wounds.

"Ow!" Dawn barely cried out in a high pitched voice, almost like a whisper. She bit her lip harder, attempting to hold back from her eyes getting watery from the horrific pain she was in again. Swinging her legs out from the bed, she sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed her eyes with her sleeves, still half asleep.

Paul watched her slowly get up, and bit his tongue when she had barely cried out in a whisper, not knowing what to do. "Come on" he mumbled as he walked slowly, noticing that she was trudging right behind him. Paul led her to the kitchen and pointed to the food as he handed her a plate and salad bowl.

Dawns eyes widened, feeling her stomach almost do a flip from the sight of a meal. She tried holding back a smile as she bit her bottom lip, but she couldn't help it. She was too excited.

After a few seconds, Dawn shook her head, setting the plate down on the table. "I can't. You've helped me so much already, I feel terrible." She looked down at her feet, feeling like she was a burden to him; just a friend in their group who was a loner for life.

Paul breathed heavily through his nose, closing his eyes for a second and opening them. He grabbed the plate and held it out to her "Stop being stupid Troublesome. I'm pretty sure friends are supposed to help each other, and I'm at least trying. I'm the one who'd feel terrible for just leaving you back there at the school." She looked up at him with big eyes, with a little bit of hope swirling in them.

"We're...friends? I just thought that it was a coincidence you had the same friends as I did that's all." Dawn replied questionably. He considered her as his friend?

"Oh." Was all Paul said. Dawn realized that he took it the wrong way, thinking that she didn't want to be his friend. Before she could speak, he spoke again.

"If you don't like me then get out." Paul suddenly replied sharply, an angry tone in his voice. He jerked his head to the door and grabbed his plate and started getting his food, ignoring the blunette who was frozen in place. What was she supposed to do now?!

'This is why I can't have friends too close to me!' Dawn screamed in her mind as her body started to shake a bit and slowly leaned against the wall, sliding down it till she sat on the floor. She messed everything up. She had one chance and fucking blew it. Dawn was about to lose it when she felt her crappy phone buzz in her pocket. She read the many texts, and instantly froze. Oh hell she was so fucking screwed...

Dawn read the texts from her father with wide eyes, feeling her heartbeat pick up rapidly, hearing it pound loudly in her ears.

(A/N: Be prepared to read a bunch of cuss words FYI heads up!)

'Where the hell are u bitch?!'

'Get ur ass out here right now before I fuckin kill you!'

'THE FUCK YOU AT YOU RETARDED PIECE OF NOTHING!? IF YOU DONT GET HERE YOULL REGRET BEING BORN YOU UGLY SHIT!'

Dawn felt herself barely breath from her body shaking so much. She felt sweat start to appear on her skin as she instantly shot up and ran to grab her bags.

Paul turned around to see Dawn running to grab her bags, her face full of fear on it. He instantly set his plate down and right before she ran by him, he grabbed her by her arm.

Dawn felt herself being held back and kept tugging, only to find Paul gripping her arm tightly. "Please, let go! I-I have to go now! Whatever you do, just don't follow me!" Dawn replied, her voice shaking as she finally ripped her arm from Paul and took off out the room.

"Wait! What?! Why?! Don't leave! Dawn!" Paul yelled as he grabbed his keys and shoved them in his pocket as he ran out chasing her. She had already started down the stairs as he ran down the hallway, hearing her rapid footsteps against the stairs. He was not letting her get away this time no matter what. He leaped down the stairs as fast as he could, barely keeping her in sight as she was almost a floor ahead of him.

"Paul! Just go back! Please!" Dawn cried out as she kept running, hoping to outrun the boy. She finally hit the bottom floor, feeling her legs burning as she sprinted to the doors, slamming them open and taking a sharp left, praying that he'd give up from not keeping her in sight.

Paul kept sprinting after her as he jumped 7 stairs onto the bottom floor and to the doors. He quickly looked to the right, then to the left to see Dawn sprinting to the school. Why did she run from him?! Was it something he said?!

Paul realized that it was something that he'd said. He ran after her, hoping to catch up. How the hell was she this fast?! He breathed heavily, sucking in air to keep his lungs open.

"DAWN!" Paul yelled out as loud as he could, not realizing how loud his voice could actually be. His voice echoed throughout the air, bouncing off the buildings. He was honestly surprised at himself since he hasn't yelled like that except for in football games when he could barely hear himself on the field.

Paul chased after her until she had arrived at one of the parking lots, so he watched her from a little ways away. She started approaching a black van, with the windows tinted almost pitch black. His eyes widened, she could not actually be going in that huge Van?!

He watched Dawn start to shrink up a bit as he heard the driver door aggressively snap open, revealing a man that had expensive clothes on, but were all wrinkled up. His white dress shirt was terribly wrinkled, his collar sticking up as the top few buttons were unbuttoned and the shirt only halfway tucked in. He was much taller than Dawn, at least being 6'4 to Pauls eyes. He had blue hair, but a little bit lighter colored, but extremely messy.

Dawn felt her whole body shaking so badly as her father approached her with hatred, despising, furious eyes burning into her soul. He towered over her and gripped the front of her jacket with one hand and lifted her up off the ground a few inches, feeling her airway close from the choking. Dawn struggled in his grip as she tried finding a way to gasp for air, but he clenched harder.

"Why the FUCK would you be late you brat!" He screamed in her face, feeling tears start to prickle in her eyes. Dawn gulped dryly, then took a tiny gasp of air that was available.

"I'm...so-orry..." Dawn gasped out, her lungs burning for the need of air. She struggled again, only to be slapped in the face brutally. Her right cheek stung her whole face, as she got another slap on her left.

"You'll get what you fuckin deserve you bitch! GET IN THE DAMN VAN!" He screamed as he violently opened the door and slammed her inside on the vans hard floor. She winced in pain, trying not to cry out. Her father had grabbed his bat and swung it back, but was stopped by a voice she knew all to well.

"DON'T YOU DARE!"

Dawn froze as her father stopped and instantly chucked the bat inside and snapped his head back to see who had caught him in his act. She slowly looked out to see an enraged Paul quickly approaching them with fire burning in his eyes as he glared at her father.

"Don't tell me what to do you stupid kid!" Her father yelled at Paul as he slammed the van door shut, so she looked out the window to see Paul so furious, it even scared her a little bit. She's never seen him so mad before. Her thoughts swarmed her head, her body shaking with fear. Why did he follow her?! She didn't want him to see this, not at all!

"Shut the fuck up you old bastard!" Paul yelled, feeling anger and hatred burn inside him from the so called man in front of him. He despised that shithead with a burning passion, feeling more hatred towards him than anyone else in his life. The man quickly ran back to the other side of the van and started to open the driver door, which made Paul sprint towards the van.

Paul swiftly ran to the other side of the van as he saw the door slam shut and heard the doors click, signaling they'd been locked. He slammed his palm against the window aggressively with all the arm-strength he had, and slammed it again as he heard the tires start to skid on the concrete.

"DAWN!" He screamed as he tried to look through the window, barely even seeing anything from the windows being tinted so dark, and the night darkness wasn't helping either. He felt the window pound a little from underneath his palm on the inside of the van.

"Paul!" He heard her cry out from inside, and he knew she needed him more than ever right now. He looked down to see a small footstep connected to the van, so he planted his feet onto it and gripped the door handle tightly. He jiggled it, hoping it would open somehow, but it stayed locked. The van started moving fast, the tires screaming as they skid, making Paul wince from the deafening sound. He tugged once more, and heard the door click faintly, hoping that it had been unlocked. He pulled on the handle fiercely, and he saw it open a quarter until it jammed.

The van swerved and jerked in all directions, trying to make Paul loose grip and fall off. Paul kept pulling, but the door was stuck in place.

"Dawn!" He yelled as he reached his left arm into the small gap that was open.

"Paul!" Dawn cried out as she felt his hand pull her to the gap. His expression had worry written all over him as his eyes pierced into hers.

"Get the hell OFF!" Her father screamed, then violently swerving a sharp right into almost a circle.

"NO!" Dawn cried out as Paul's body instantly jerked from the force and lost grip on the van, and tumbled to the ground at full force, his right shoulder screaming with pain from landing on it.

"Fuck!" Paul yelled as he got up and watched the van already out of his sight speeding off. He clenched his fists together, feeling his whole body tighten as he shut his eyes, feeling his body shake with anger and failure.

"GODDAMMIT!" He screamed as he gripped his hair with both hands, pulling his purple locks. His body started to give into numbness as he shakily fell to his knees, feeling too many emotions burn through him. He angrily growled as he punched the ground, feeling his eyes swell up making his vision blurry.

Paul saw it. He saw everything, he saw too much. That's why she didn't want him to chase her, because she feared he'd see this. Why didn't she say anything?! Why couldn't she ask someone for help?! Why did she accept her life like this?! WHY? Because she was afraid, too afraid of letting someone get too close to her, so she closed and cut them off before they could see her. And he had gotten to close to her, so she ran from him. All she can do is run.

He realized that she couldn't be able to trust, to believe anyone from her heart being broken too many times in the last, and she refused to let anyone try to help rebuild back the shattered pieces of her heart that has been crushed, stomped on, destroyed.

Paul let out another angry growl as he felt a tear slide down his face, dripping onto the pavement, leaving a tiny dark spot of where it landed. He swore and cursed at himself as he just stayed there, until he had the strength to finally stand up and slowly walk to his apartment, feeling weak from not being able to help her when she needed him. He couldn't bear the thought of what was happening to her right now.

He opened his door and closed it behind him and looked at the untouched pizza that had gone cold. He ignored it as he aggressively walked to his room and laid on his bed, closing his eyes while letting his thoughts swarm in his mind. She had been sleeping on his bed last, and when he put his head on his pillow, he felt it slightly cold and damp.

Paul looked at his pillow and clenched it in his hands when he realized that they were her tears, still spilled on his pillow. How the hell was he supposed to sleep tonight? Dawn was the only thing on his mind the whole night, as he drifted off to sleep after many hours of thinking, and the last thing he remembered was that he promised himself to help her.

JC: Wow, another chapie done! YAY!

Gary: So much suspense! I thought Paul was gonna die!

Paul: *walks in* What?

Gary: In the story you almost died trying to save Dawn! So heroic!

Ash: The action is realz!

Paul: I don't care.

Dawn: *tears up* you don't care about me?

Paul: What? That's not what I meant!

Dawn: I don't wanna hear it!

Paul: I was talking about-

JC: How about you guys read the chapters?!

Dawn and Paul: -_- okay...

JC: That's what you said last time you chickens! Ba-CAW!

Gary and Ash: *start making chicken sounds*

Paul: -_- whatever


	7. Freshman year (part 6)

**JC: Yassss gettin' another chapie done! Woohoo!**

 **Gary: YAS DUDE!**

 **JC: -_- really?**

 **Gary: Or dudette... Cause ur a chick.**

 **Paul: Pathetic.**

 **Dawn: Be nice Paul!**

 **JC: Yeah bro, chill! Unless you got #nochill**

 **Paul: Fine**

 **Dawn: Yay!**

After the horrible weekend, Dawn was feeling even worse. It was Monday morning, and she was just arriving at the school from being dropped off by her mother.

The small car slowed down to a full stop, and Dawn looked at her overexhausted mother.

"Take care Dawn, I love you." Johanna softly said as Dawn smiled back, then hopped out of the car. Her mother had bought her a footlong sandwich from Subway without her father knowing, and she was so grateful. Dawn watched her mom drive away until a cold chilly breeze whipped by. She shivered, then automatically pulled on her hood, face down to the ground and walked inside the school. It was 6:30 am, just like always. Dawn walked at a faster pace, hoping to not get caught but she heard that voice again.

"Dawn, hoodies off in buildings please." Principal Cynthia said again, softly smiling at Dawn as she did the same routine again. Yank hood off, stuff black hoodie on to cover her blue hair.

"Thank you Dawn, and you did very well on your game on Friday. I'll be looking forward to the next." Cynthia said as Dawn barely showed a smile, then took off towards her locker. As she arrived at her locker, she saw the same things like last time. Ugly colored lipstick writing all over her locker that she ignored, knowing it was all the names she'd been called before.

Switching books out of her locker again, checking her face to see different bruises appearing and old ones fading, same old routine. Dawn mentally groaned when she heard the clacking of heels against the floor echoing throughout the hallway.

Dawn knew it was Ursula, Hilda, Brianna, Melody, and Miette. They approached her with angry bitch faces on and surrounded her again.

Ursula jabbed a pointy nail into her chest angrily "How could you?! You bitch STOLE him away from me!" She screamed in her face, but Dawn didn't flinch. She just shrugged her shoulders, not caring about the words coming from that demons mouth.

"And I bet you were in it when Ash asked Serena too, weren't you?!" Miette hissed as they stepped closer to her. Dawn shook her head, she didn't know anything about that! Well, good for Ash because they were so cute together.

Brianna slapped Dawn in the face, then the other four followed her lead and slapped her as well. Dawn shrunk a little, trying to avoid their bitch slaps.

"I can't believe you forced Paul into going to homecoming with you?! You're a fucking loner, you're trash, you're literally nothing but shit!" Ursula angrily shrieked, then huffed and tightened her ponytail that was curled into a drill again.

"Like, why would he even like, consider this scumbag?! Look at her, she's ugly as hell, short as a midget, weak as an ant, she's basically a walking dead person!" Hilda mocked, and they all started to laugh in their high pitched voices again, only making Dawn irritated.

"Oh, is that not funny enough for you DeeDee? We'll make it more funny!" Ursula mocked and shoved her against the lockers so hard it made Dawn bounce off and stumble to the ground. They were about to start lashing out at her until she heard fast steps on the ground, and the fab five froze when they heard the voice.

"HEY! THATS OUR FRIEND!" Dawn looked back to see Ash, Gary, Drew, Serena, May, Misty, Leaf and Paul all sprinting down the hallway and approach the fab five with angry faces.

"Mr. Drew! I-it's not what it l-looks like!" Brianna instantly said, then started biting on her fingernail from nervousness.

"Oh yeah, suuure it isn't Brianna the Bitch!" May yelled as she pointed straight at Brianna, who didn't reply. May, Leaf, Misty, and Serena approached the fab five furiously, making them step away from Dawn.

Misty brought out one of her famous mallets and gripped it tightly in her right hand, her knuckles going white "I will bet every last one of your damn asses for treating our dear friend like that!" She raged, scaring the fab five.

"You're all nothing but stuck up bitches who care about money, popularity, media, bullying, and guys to fuck and play with. I can't STAND it!" Leaf yelled in Hilda's face, making her gulp in response.

Dawn watched her friends stand up for her, and she felt herself being lifted off the ground secured by two strong arms that held her delicately. She was softly put back onto her feet, and looked up to see Paul that had lifted her up. Hey eyes widened, then instantly looked towards the ground, not knowing what to say since their last interaction on Friday.

"Hey Dawn, are you okay" Ash asked as Drew and Gary were also around her, making sure if she was okay. Dawn bit her lip and nodded, hoping nobody would notice her locker. Unfortunately from her so called "luck", Paul and Gary had noticed the lipstick on her locker.

Paul pointed at it, wondering if that was her locker with shit all over it. "Is that your locker?" He asked, and her reply was a slight nod, not even making eye contact with him. He walked over to it and read all the words, feeling his emotions stir again. There were words so horrific, even he wouldn't dare say to anyone. Clenching his fists together, he looked back to see Ash, Drew and Gary comforting her, but he couldn't forget Friday's event, and he was positive she didn't forget either.

He remembered how afraid she looked, how terrified of that man she calls father. How her glassy navy blue eyes cried silently without having to speak, how her body shook from her fathers appearance, how she flinched violently under that mans touch, and how scared to death she looked when they had made eye contact. How he felt her hand pound the window from inside the van, how she called his name. There was nothing he could forget about that night she ran out.

As the Fab Five finally walked away, May, Leaf, Misty and Serena high fives each other. "Omg they were so scared! Brianna looked so stupid!" May laughed as the other girls laughed along.

"I know! Ursulas hair is so weird too! I mean, her head is a freakin drill! They're so stupid." Leaf said, obviously annoyed at the fab five.

"So should we all go get some Starbucks? I'm feeling like a white chick today." Gary said, making everyone roll their eyes. Misty smacked the back of his head, making him whine in response. "Idiot! How many times do I have to tell you to NOT say white chick?!"

"However many times it takes for you to fall for my gorgeous looks." Gary sassily responded, running a hand through his so called 'gorgeous locks'

"Cocky much? Just shut up and let's go!" May happily yelled and started marching down the hallway, and when I mean marching, I literally mean marching like a 6th grade trumpet player marching in a parade.

Everyone just followed, but Paul walked by Dawns left side. He honestly didn't know what to say to her, not like talking was his specialty either, but of the past memories and events that happened, he bet she didn't want to talk about it either.

They all walked to class after making sure their dear friend was okay, even though Dawn knew she lied right through her own teeth. She didn't want her friends to worry about her, she felt like such a burden to them all the time and feeling bad for it. She sighed as she slumped in her seat in her homeroom and pulled out one of her big notebooks to draw in and stuff.

Today they had a sub, so they put on a show called 'Numbers' since they were in algebra. **(A/N: My teacher did the same thing and it's not that bad of a show)** and Dawn didn't feel like watching, she felt like pouring out all of her emotions onto paper, one of her specialties. This was her way of expression, to show people with her art and lyrics instead of having to speak and break down...like she did with Paul.

As the class watched the show, Dawn luckily sat in the back, so she was trying to come up with lyrics of some sort by humming to herself. She closed her eyes and thought of lyrics, and soon her hand was writing so fast, it almost looked like a blur to others.

 _'I wish I was strong,_  
 _Enough to lift, not one but both of us._  
 _Someday, I will be strong,_  
 _Enough to lift, not one but both of us.'_

Dawn hummed the lyrics to herself over and over, feeling her emotions run through herself. She smiled to herself, satisfied with the beautiful lyrics she had come up with. Dawn grabbed her pencils and started drumming a beat on the desk quietly, thinking of a rap to the song. Since she could deskbeat with pens and pencils, it made it easier to think of rap lyrics.

' _Uh, ever thought about losing it_  
 _When your money's all gone and you lose your whip_  
 _You might lose your grip when the landlord tell ya that you're due for rent_  
 _And the grass so green on the other side_  
 _Make a nigga wanna run straight through the fence_  
 _Open up the fridge 'bout twenty times_  
 _But still can't find no food in it_  
 _That's foolishness_  
 _And sometimes I wonder, why we care so much about the way we look._  
 _And the way we talk and the way we act and the clothes we bought, how much that cost._  
 _Does it even really matter?_  
 _Cause if life is an up hill battle_  
 _We all tryna climb with the same ol' ladder_  
 _In the same boat, with the same ol' paddle_  
 _Why so shallow? I'm just asking_  
 _What's the pattern to the madness_  
 _Everybody ain't a number one draft pick_  
 _Most of us ain't Hollywood actors_

 _But if it's all for one, and one for all_  
 _Then maybe one day, we all can ball_  
 _Do it one time for the underdogs_  
 _Sincerely yours, from one of y'all'_

Dawn was so zoned in to her song that she hadn't realized that the person in front of her had been watching the whole time, a shocked look on his face. She took a breather and a sip of water from her bottle and looked up to see his face, obviously shocked and impressed by her work.

Dawn immediately felt her face flush in embarrassment as he smiled at her. "So I finally get to meet the loner Ursula always talks about. Didn't know you had skills like that though." He complimented, then he turned back around in his seat. Dawn studied him from the back. He has dirty blonde hair that was stick straight down a little shorter than the shoulders. He wore an orange jacket, but that's pretty much all Dawn could see.

She ignored him as she turned back down to her lyrics, writing the chorus once more.

 _'I wish I was strong,_  
 _Enough to lift, not one but both of us._  
 _Someday, I will be strong_  
 _Enough, to lift, not one but both of us.'_

Dawn decided to stop there, more than satisfied with the progress she's already made. She closed her notebook and stuffed it into her bag again and munched on a granola bar, waiting for time to pass to escape the class when the bell rang.

When the bell finally rang, which felt like a thousand years, she bolted out the door to her next classes, barely living through those as well. After managing to live through Ursula again, it was finally lunch time. Dawn had finished her song in the classes she just had, and honestly she felt lighter on the balls of her feet, almost a hop to her steps since she was so happy about how good the song was. It was full of emotion, and it inspired her. This is why she loved music and drawing; it let her escape from the real world to her own.

Dawn quickly grabbed her sandwich that her mom bought her earlier, and she didn't even realize she was smiling as she sat down in the hallway again to eat lunch by herself until Ursula approached her.

Dawn stopped halfway before taking a bite of the mouthwatering sandwich in her hands and looked up at Ursula, who looked pissed as fuck. She put her hands on her hips while putting more of her weight onto her right hip, trying her best to look sassy and intimidating as always.

"Look bitch, I know you did something to make Paulie ask you instead, and you're going to fucking PAY. I swear on my goddamn life I'll make you suffer!" Ursula spat, then pulled out her super sparkly too pink lipgloss and applied another five trillion layers, which made Dawn really want to throw up because it was just TOO MUCH SPARKLY SHIT EVERYWHERE.

"This isn't a high school movie Barbie, it's real life. Get used to it." Dawn confidently spat back, smirking at the sight of Ursulas now twisted up face. "And FYI, I didn't do shit to you bitch. You've made yourself one."

"Excuse me?! You stole me man! He was supposed to show up for the varsity game but NO!" Ursula screamed back and stomped her right heel on the ground angrily, making Dawn laugh at her.

Dawn shook her head and smirked at the pink headed girl "You know, you're nothing without your backups. You're just a sad, lonely bastard who cares only for their presence to be known to everyone. Just look at your fucking self, how bout checking a mirror for a change?" Dawn sassily suggested, then took a bite of her sandwich like nothing happened at all. Ursulas face was tomato red from anger as she angrily screamed through her teeth, then decided to stomp off.

"What a fucking BITCH! Move out of my WAY!" She shrieked as Dawn watched her almost run into the person rounding the corner, which was no other than Paul himself. He barely dodged the furious Barbie as he spun out of her way like he was doing a spin move in basketball and raised both eyebrows at the sight.

Paul honestly was CONFUSED. Ursula has never shoved him out of the way, and for the first time he felt hell of a lot better than dealing with the Barbie doll who obsessed over him 24/7. He looked back to see Dawn sitting again, and sighed in relief when he saw she was okay. She was busy eating a sandwich while writing or something in a big notebook, which perked his curiosity. He sat next to her and bit into his apple and ran a hand through his hair.

"What was that about Troublesome?" He gruffly asked, wondering about the scene that had just happened. She quickly put her notebook to her other side and looked down at her sandwich, shrugging her shoulders. "She was bothering me again, so I gave her a sliver of my thoughts running in my mind."

Paul sighed tiredly as he leaned his head against the wall while hewing another bite of his apple. "What'd you say?" Dawn glanced up at him with eyes that seemed to be thinking whether or not she'd tell him. After a few seconds, she slightly sighed but decided to briefly tell him. "She approached me again by herself and basically told me to fuck off, but then I did tell her the same thing back with different words." Paul nodded his head, hoping for a longer explanation but he didn't push it. They were both silent for a few minutes, just quietly munching on their food.

Dawn finished her sandwich, but before she picked up her notebook again, her thoughts flew back to Friday. Was she supposed to say anything? Was this a topic that should be confronted or left buried deep in both of their thoughts? Biting the inside of her cheek, she decided to start off with a thank you and an apology.

She nervously shifted a little, making Paul notice her movements. Dawn nervously gulped, then stared at her lap, not having enough courage to look into his onyx eyes that pierced through hers.

"P-Paul..." Paul felt his heart skip a beat in his chest, then pound louder and quicker from her saying his name. Wtf is wrong with him?! Why should it matter that she said his name?

"...I um...just wanted to say t-thank you for everything you've done for me, and I also wanted, um needed to say I'm sorry for what you saw..." Dawn said quietly, her voice growing more quiet the more she talked, almost to a whisper.

"No need. It's fine" Paul quickly responded, his mind flashing back again to Friday. She been on his mind the whole day, and there was no way he could stop. He knew he saw way too much for her comfort zone, but it was too late now. A part of him felt better knowing more about her, hoping to get closer to help but the other part wished he hadn't seen such a violent scene. It played over and over in his head too many times, he couldn't forget it ever.

"Let's walk to class." Paul said after a few more minutes as he stood up and sighed to himself after a second and decided to offer a hand. He wasn't fucking heartless like Ash always told him, and moments like this with Troublesome he was willing to set his damn pride aside for a minute and help her. He always let his guard down around her with his not too many emotions, but always had his protective guard on in case Ursula or anyone else decided to come near her.

Dawn looked at him, then his offering hand and nervously took his hand. He lifted her off the ground easily, then they made eye contact for a few seconds before they both looked away, with Paul shoving his hands back into his pockets. With every step he took, she took almost two steps. He thought it was kinda cute, but felt his cheeks heat up from the thought, so he mentally scolded himself. She was about more than half a foot shorter than him, so it was to be expected.

Dawn felt so happy on the inside from finally letting a heavy weight being lifted off her shoulders. She realized how much of a friend Paul was to her, and she didn't want to keep pushing him back anymore. But she didn't want him to know the truth about her life. Even though she did like him as in a crush, she knew she'd have to put up her guard, hoping nothing like that will ever happen again.

She promised herself to let go a little bit, hoping Paul would stick by her like all of these years he's ever done. She remembers elementary school, when he got sent home because he punched a fat kid for twisting her wrist during recess. She remembered all the memories from middle school. Why did she ever doubt him? He was the one who always stuck up for her, and she just shoved him aside like nothing.

Dawn felt like she was meant something, and Paul was that one person who cared, so she wouldn't take him for granted anymore.

She felt herself smile widely as she bounced in between her steps, seeing Paul smirk at her as he held the door open for her to their music class with all of their friends. For the first time in a long time, she honestly has never felt so happy before.

 **JC: BOOM! Finished it!**

 **Gary: THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL! Dawn totally bitched out Ursula!**

 **Ash: I THOUGHT YOU DIED FROM NOT UPDATING!**

 **JC: I'm sorry! It's school, blame my teachers!**

 **Dawn: AWWW it was so cute! I actually read it! Pablo what do you think?**

 **Paul: My names not Pablo!**

 **Dawn: Yes it is! Pablo is the spanish name for Paul.**

 **JC: Really? Hm...I might need that later on...**

 **Paul: -_- thanks Troublesome**

 **Dawn: YUP! Anytime Pablo! :D**

 **JC: Hopefully the chapie wasn't boring, and I'll try my best to update soon guys! And the song**  
 **Lyrics were from a song called "Both of us" featured Taylor Swift.**

 **Ash: Adios Nachos!**

 **Gary: Smell ya later!**


End file.
